Washing apparatus



Feb. 26, 1935. J. E. BYRD WASHING APPARATUS Filed March 4, 1932 INVENTOR.

don/v E. BVRD.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 26, 1935 PATENT OFFICE 1,992,737 WASHING APPARATUS John E. Byrd,

Detroit, Mich.

Application March 4, 1932, Serial No. 596,856

'1 Claims.

This invention relates to a washing apparatus and more particularly to that type of washing apparatus which simultaneously heats the washing water and washes the work. It is proposed to produce a washing apparatus which causes the water in the washer to surge and resurge without the use of any moving parts.

It is an object of the invention to produce a washing apparatus that will wash the work,

such as soiled linen, clothes, etc., and which utilizes the heat energy required to heat the water for the additional purpose of agitating the water.

It is an object of this invention to produce a Washing apparatus utilizing heat energy to intermittently form a pressure head. causing the Washing water to circulate first in one direction and then in the opposite direction to wash the work.

It is a further object of this invention to produce a washing apparatus which utilizes the property of heated water to which soap has been added of having the steam bubbles stabilized until a critical temperature at which the bubbles instantaneously foam and expand has been reached, to produce a periodic surging and resurging of the water through the work.

Itis a further object of this invention to produce a washing apparatus which is constructed to utilize heat to rapidly form alternating pres- 30 sure differentials which produce periodic-surging and resurging of water at closely spaced intervals of time.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a section through the washing apparatus showing the position of the water at the beginning of the formation of the pressure head.

Fig. 2 is a section similar to Fig. 1 showing the relative levels of thewater just before the pressure head has fully expended itself.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of the head bell.

Fig. 4 is a section along the line 44 of Fig; 3.

Fig. 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, there is shown any suitable reservoir such as the tub I provided with a cover 2. There is positioned beneath the bottom of the tub, and preferably centrally thereof, any suitable heating element such as the gas burner 3. A bell 4 is fixed to the bottom 5 of the tub in any suitable manner suchas by welding or soldering, and preferably immediately over the heating element 3. This bell is shown in detail in Fig. 3, and comprises the base portion 6 provided with a plurality of openings 7, and the head portion 8 40 pressure likewise is provided with a plurality of openings 9. It will be noted that the bell 4 tapers from the base to the top. The opening in the head portion 8 is closed by the baffle 10. The battle 10 may be of any suitable shape and preferably isconical as shown. The bafiie 10 may be welded "or otherwise fixed to the head 8 so that the line of contact between the head 8 and the baille 10 is air-tight. The baffle 10 has welded or other- Wise fixed thereto as at 11, thedepending tube 10 12. The joint between the baffle 10 and the tube 12 is likewise air-tight and the tube 12 has "an imperforate bottom 13. The function of the closed tube 12 is that of decreasing the volume of free space in the head 8 above the water level. 15 It has been found the device functions better if the volume at the top of the bell is reduced and this closed tube 12 is merely one way to accomplish the result.

The inverted bellis provided with a baffle 14 20 welded or'otherwise secured as at15 to the'bell, substantially midway between the top and bottom of the bell. The baffle 14 is provided with a plurality of peripheral openings 16 or is otherwise provided with perforations or passages. It has been found that the apparatus will function efficiently without this baflle 14 but the insertion of-the baflle 14 makes the apparatus perform somewhat better.

When the tub 1 is filled with soapy water to the proper level, the water flows through the opening 7 into the bell 4 and rises to the same level asthe water in the tub. It is appreciated that if the top of the bell 4 were entirely closed 7 that the air within the bell would be compressed as the water began to flow into the bell through the openings '7. Consequently, this entrapped air would be compressed to a certain extent'but would prevent the water within the bell from attaining the same level as the water in the tub. "40 As a matter of fact, the water in the bell in suoh a case would rise to a position slightly above the openings '7. Hence, to permit the escape of air as the water rises in the bell 4, the bell is provided with the air vent area which, 'as shown for descriptive purposes only 'in the drawing, comprises the openings 9 in the head 8. i It is understood that the total air vent area is preferably only sufficient to properly permit the escape of the air entrapped inthe bell above wa- 60 ter level to permit the water from the tub to enter and fill the bell 4. It is understood that the air vent area must be small enough to permit the building up of the steam pressure 'headas described below and yet at the same time large enough preferably to permit an outflow of the entrapped air and/or steam as the water rushes into the bell sufficiently rapid to obtain the preferable ten second cycle of operation described below. It has been found that if the openings 9 are limited to three, each having a diameter of of an inch, and if the openings 7 are limited to 12, each of an inch in diameter, that a very efficient washing action is obtained. Thus, the totalarea of openings 7 is thirty-six times the total area of openings 9. It is specifically understood that the total intake opening area between the bell and the tub, which is specifically shown for descriptive purposes only, comprises the total area of the openings 7 and can be varied Within limits to obtain an efliciently operating washing apparatus.

It has likewise been found that if the diameter of the base 6 is nine inches and if the length of the tube 12 is three and one-half inches and its outside diameter one inch and'the mean diameter of the head 8 between the bottom 13 and the top of the tube 12 is one and one-quarter inches that a very efiicient operating device is obtained. The over-all height of the bell 4 from the bottom to the top is approximately fourteen inches. The diameter of each of the openings 16 is threequarters of an inch. A device fabricated according to these dimensions has proved highly efficient in operation, but it is understood that these dimensions can very well be varied and yet remain fully within the scope of the invention.

In operation, after the tub is filled with water, preferably substantially to the level indicated, the Work which is to be Washed is loaded in the tub 1, the top of which is then preferably closed by the cover 2 although closing of the top is not necessary to the operation of the device and serves merely to limit the emission of steam during the operation of the device. The gas burner 3 is then lighted and the water in the bell 4 brought to a boiling temperature. It is, of course, understood that the water is provided with the usual amount of soapor the like.

As the waterwithin the bell immediately adjacent the bottom 5 of the tub is heated, it rises to the top, passing through the perforated baiile plate 14 by which it is agitated to produce turbulence. This turbulence of the water produces a foaming or bubble-forming action which is stabilized by the film caused by the addition of soap to the water. As the heat continues and the foaming increases, the bubbles rise within the bell until a critical temperature has been reached, at which time the pressure head in the bell 4 rapidly and explosively overcomes the stabilizing effect of the soap film. The explosive force thus created is largely located in the upper portion of the bell 4 and is directed downwardly to expel thewater through the openings 7 by reason of the fact that the upper end of the bell is closed, except for openings 9, which openings 9 are of such small size and aggregate area as to be unable to accommodate exhaust of more than a small proportion of the water in the bell. In fact, it is believed from observations of the operation of the device that the expulsion through the openings 9 is largely limited to the water contained in the film of the bubbles or foam formed preceding the explosion. The surge or outrush of water from the bell 4 practically empties the bell and raises the water level in the tub 1 whereby the water is forced upwardly through the work contained in the tub and may lift the work with it. Exhaustion of the water discharging force in the bell creates a higher static pressure in the tub than the steam pressure in the bell, where-' upon the water surges downwardly through the clothes and back into the bell through openings 7 under the action of gravity. It is believed that this resurging action is facilitated by a condensing of the steam contained in the bell after the explosion resulting from the temperature difference between the steam in the bell and the water in the tub, and that this condensing is expedited by the admission of air into the bell through the openings 9. The stabilizing action of the soap foam or bubbles serves largely to conserve the pressure head in the container until the above mentioned critical temperature has been reached, though it has been observed that some of the foam may be exhausted through the openings 9 immediately preceding the outward surging of the water from the bell.

Due to the directed application of the heat from heating element 3 to the device at the pointof the bottom 5 of the tub 1 which'forms the bottom of the hell 4, only the water within the bell 4 reaches a boiling point under normal operative conditions. the radiation of heat from the tub or the conductance of heat through the walls of the tub being normally sufficient to prevent the wa-- ter outside of bell 4 from reaching the boiling. point. In this respect, it has been observed that the water in tub 1 is generally about 160 degrees Fahrenheit when the first surging action is obtained, and that the maximum temperature of the water in the tub I after continued operation and with continuously applied heat is about 200 degrees Fahrenheit. As the heat is continuously applied after operation has once begun, the fre quency of the cycles of surging and resurging of the water in the devices increases until the same rapidly follow each other and the time required for the completion of a cycle is 10 seconds or less. The rapidity of the surging or resurging of the water through the clothes is highly advantageous and minimizes the time required to complete a washing.

The formation of the upper portion of bell 4 of reduced dimension facilitates rapid operation of the device by restricting the volume of the foam or bubble-containing portion thereof whereby the formation of a steam pressure head of explosive force is expedited and the time required therefor is minimized.

While provision of the baffle 14 for the purpose of causing turbulence of the water to facilitate the foaming or bubbling thereof in the manner heretofore described is preferred, it has been found that the bafile is not necessary to the operation of the device. It is believed, however, that the provision of the baffle in the manner described enhances the operation of the device with respect to the rapidity of operation. and the time required to wash the work.

I claim:

1. A washing apparatus comprising in combination a container adapted to receive soapy washing water, a source of heat for heating the water in the chamber and a chamber secured to the bottom of the container positioned substantially over the heating source, a water intake opening in the chamber below the water level adjacent the bottom of the container and an air and/ or steam vent above the water level adjacent the top of the chamber, the area of the water intake opening being approximately thirty-six times as large as the area of the air and/or steam vent, the air and/0r steam vent being sufliciently small to permit the building up of a steam pressure head in the chamber and yet large enough to permit the partial escape of the air and/or steam within the chamber as the water from the container flows into the chamber under the action of gravity.

2. A washing apparatus comprising in combination a container adapted to receive the washing water, a continuous source of heat for heating the water in the chamber, and an air-tight chamber fixed to the bottom of the container with an air-tight joint and positioned substantially over the heating element, the said air-tight chamber being provided with an intake opening positioned adjacent and slightly above the bottom of the container and having an area substantially 121r( square inches, and an air and/or steam vent adjacent the top of the chamber having an area of substantially snag) 2 square inches.

3. A washing apparatus comprising in combination a container adapted to receive the washing water, a continuous source of heat for heating the water in the bell, and a bell fixed to the bottom of the container with an air-tight joint and tapering from the bottom to the top and positioned substantially over the heating source, an air and/or steam vent in the top of the container above the level of the water in the container sufiiciently large with respect to the water intake opening to permit the partial escape of the entrapped air and/or steam as the Water from the container flows into the bell under the action of gravity and sufiiciently small to permit the formation of a steam pressure head in the bell, an intake opening below the level of the Water in the container adjacent the bottom of the chamber, and a perforated baiiie positioned substantially horizontally of the bell substantially midway between the top and bottom of the same; whereby a periodic discharge of steam and water from the top vent together with a discharge of water from the bottom opening followed by a flow of water through the bottom opening into the bell may occur.

4. A washing apparatus comprising in combination a container for receiving the washing liquid, a source of heat for heatingliquid in the chamber, and a chamber secured to the bottom of the container directly over the source of heat,

flow of the water under the influence of gravity from the container into the chamber takes place through the openings adjacent the bottom of the container.

5. A washing apparatus comprising a container for receiving a soapy water, a chamber in said container having water passage below the normal level of the water in the container and being of reduced dimension at its upper end, and a source of heat beneath the chamber for heating the water in the chamber to rapidly build up in the reduced upper portion of the chamber a steam pressure head of explosive strength to discharge water from said chamber downwardly throughv said passage, said chamber having a vent opening above the normal level of the water in the container of a size restricted with relation to the size of said water passage and large enough to vent the air initially therein whereby dissipation therethrough of steam generated in said chamber is small and yet the air may be driven out, said opening facilitating rapid flow of water into said chamber through said passage following explosion of each pressure head.

6. A washing apparatus comprising a container for receiving soapy water, a chamber in said container having a water passage below the normal level of the water in the container and a source of heat beneath the chamber for heating the water in the chamber to rapidly build up in the chamber a steam pressure head of explosive strength to discharge water from said chamber downwardly through said passage, said chamber having a vent opening above the normal level of the water in the container of a size restricted with relation to the size of said water passage and large enough to vent the air initially therein whereby dissipation therethrough of steam generated in said chamber is small and yet the air may be drawn out, said opening facilitating rapid flow of water into said chamber through said passage following explosion of each pressure head.

7. A washing apparatus comprising a container for receiving soapy water, a chamber in said container having a restricted air vent opening above and a relatively large water passage below the normal level of the water in the container, a source of heat beneath the chamber for heating the water in the chamber, and baifie means in said chamber through which the heated soapy water passes and is agitated thereby to induce bubbling thereof and effect a measurable retardation of exhaust of steam through said opening pending formation of a steam pressure head effective to force the major portion of the Water downwardly through said passage.

JOHN E. BYRD. 

